Lose Weight By Giving Up Carbs? It Might Just Work For You

Most of her life, Jan Ellison, made weight loss plans but failed to stick to any of it for any length of time. That is until about a year ago. She decided to give up all vegetable fats and significantly reduced her carbohydrate intake — especially sugar, and here is what happened:

She lost weight and didn’t gain it back!

Ellison says: “I’ve always exercised regularly, even vigorously, but I still had trouble losing weight and keeping it off. I’d diet, lose five pounds, then slowly gain it back. I always blamed the diet. In the last year, I’ve lost eight pounds and not gained it back. If I put a couple pounds back on, I can take it off again by sticking to a low-carb regime, which has been surprisingly easy.” She says that going without carbs has allowed her to stabilize her diet without feeling deprived.

Her cholesterol ratios improved

Ellison reports: “We’ve all been told that high-protein, low-carb diets are bad for our hearts. I believed it, too. So when I embarked on this new way of eating, I was careful to monitor my cholesterol ratios with regular blood work. My last blood test measured HDL to total cholesterol at .44, and triglycerides to HDL at .6. My already healthy ratios had improved considerably with a low-carb, high protein diet.”

Her digestion troubles resolved

Ellison says she always suffered from digestive troubles like gas, bloating and constipation and in order to treat these conditions, she turned to over the counter solutions. “Now, I eat grains rarely, so the only fiber I get is from vegetables and limited fruit. Yet I no longer get gas and bloating, and I no longer need fiber supplements,” she says. “Much of this may be the result of reducing gluten along with carbs, although I haven’t been religious about eliminating gluten, and still enjoy a beer or a slice of bread now and then.”

She stopped feeling hungry

Her traditional breakfast of cereal and milk didn’t cut it and she’d be hungry only hours later. This isn’t the case any longer. “For the last year, my breakfast has been two fried eggs and coffee with half and half or full cream. This keeps me sated until my cobb salad at lunch. A piece of cheese and some celery in the afternoon helps me stay full until dinner.”

She no longer craves sweets

Ellison says she used to crave sweets morning and night but now, things have changed. “I’ve noticed that as my body has become accustomed to a low-carb, low-sugar diet, these cravings have been reduced. A small piece of dark chocolate after dinner satisfies my sweet tooth.”

Her hair grew faster

After getting a ‘too short’ hair cut, Ellison noticed it took next to no time to grow out. ” A strand of hair is made up mostly of protein, and it needs protein to grow. My high-protein diet has made my hair healthier, and healthy hair grows faster.”

Her alcohol intake and tolerance dropped dramatically

Ellison says, “As soon as I lowered my carb intake, I noticed that my alcohol tolerance dropped dramatically. After a couple of drinks, I was not only more intoxicated than I wanted to be, I also started getting hangovers.” So, now, she drinks less frequently. Besides, being drunk can mess with your fat burning ability and make a mess of your weight loss goals.

She stopped counting calories and carbs

After a lifetime of counting calories and carbs, Ellison realized that it was no longer necessary. “When I started reducing carbs and increasing protein, I switched to counting carbs, shooting for below fifty a day. Once I’d done this for a month or so, I found that counting was no longer necessary… I’ll check a label now and then if I’m trying something new in a package, but mostly I’ve stopped counting. It’s been a huge surprise to learn that the way Americans have been told to eat for decades is not the way we should eat; there is a healthier alternative that doesn’t feel like deprivation at all.”

Interesting and positive results! What do you think of this outcome? Would you consider dropping carbs completely?

 

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